Optoelectronic semiconductor chips for instance in the form of photodiodes or of light-emitting diodes have become widely used in recent years. Some of the aspects which are encouraging more widespread use of optoelectronic semiconductor chips are their high efficiency, robustness against external environmental influences such as for example moisture or mechanical stress, long service life, compact structure and wide variety of configuration options, these all being achieved with comparatively favourable manufacturing costs. Something which is often decisive with regard to these characteristics is the housing of the semiconductor chip, to which considerable attention is therefore generally paid.
Some fields of application in which optoelectronic semiconductor chips and in particular light-emitting and laser diodes dominate are for instance backlighting of displays or display means. Optoelectronic semiconductor chips are also increasingly being used in lighting devices for projection purposes, in floodlights or spotlights or for general lighting.